Sleeping on a Winncare Axtair Automorpho Plus alternating air mattress is “like jumping out of a mini and into a BMW,” says Christchurch caregiver Paul McIntyre.

Paul’s wife, Barbara, has multiple sclerosis and the couple haven’t had a full night’s sleep in years.

Despite having a good quality static mattress, Barbara used to suffer from back pain and pressure injuries and her husband had to set alarms during the night to get up and manually turn her.

“I was getting stressed because I would be up three or four times a night,” Paul explains. “Then the next morning, because I’d had broken sleep, it was like I was walking around in a dream. All of that has gone now. I can get up in the morning and go in… Barbara’s still asleep and I have to wake her. This mattress has certainly done a huge amount for me. It’s given me back my life as well.”

Barbara, aged 77, is also rapt with the Winncare Axtair Automorpho Plus, supplied by Cubro. “It’s fabulous. I go straight to sleep, and I no longer have a sore back. I read a book for about 5 minutes then I’m out like a light.”

The mattress features alternate one in two cell inflation and the movement is incredibly subtle and gentle. It automatically senses the correct inflation level according to the client’s morphology (weight and distribution) whilst offering the choice of a soft, medium, or firmer inflation level.

Each cell is made of very soft material, so it doesn’t crinkle or rustle, and the pump is extremely quiet. “It’s quite a gentle hum,” Paul says. “It wouldn’t annoy you in any way. It’s a sleepy kind of drone.”

Barbara, who spends around 14 hours a day in bed, is completely immersed by the mattress as it cuddles around her. As well as a good night’s sleep, her pressure injuries and back pain disappeared within a month of Cubro installing the new equipment. “It’s fabulous. I can’t say enough about it.”

Canterbury District Health Board Occupational Therapist, Ros Rossiter, has organised an Automorpho Plus mattress for two of her clients this year, and she’s thrilled with the outcomes. 

“I was thinking I was going to have to get Barbara something expensive to help turn her automatically in the night and save Paul having to do it. But actually, once we got this mattress in place, I didn’t need to do that. It seems to have solved all the problems. They’re both now having a good night’s sleep – she’s more alert and functional the next day, and Paul’s able to care for her in a more well-rested state.”

"It seems to have solved all the problems. They’re both now having a good night’s sleep"